you are the most wonderful gift to me and your father ... this jasmine, is for you, my dear...

Thursday, 13 May 2010

Thomas Cup Quarter Finals

I didn't plan to watch the tie between Malaysia and Denmark last night. No, not because I didn't have faith in our boys. It's just that I'm not into sports and I sometimes can't bear the suspense of watching those heart-stopping moments when you wish so much that our team will win but you know the outcome could go either way.

And oh boy, there really were plenty of heart-stopping moments last night. It was nothing short of a roller coaster ride that left me dizzy with excitement.

So how did I end up watching the match? Well, there was nothing much on TV while I was waiting to watch Adamaya. I flipped to TV1, and the game between Lee Chong Wei and Peter Gade Christensen was on. While I was watching, DH arrived home early from his course at Bank Negara. Both of us watched the game in the living room. DH commented "Kalau Chong Wei kalah, habis la. Yg lain tak boleh harap." He was still frustrated about the embarassing defeat in the group tie against Japan. I said "You shouldn't be watching. Tadi Chong Wei main best. Now he's losing." Yes, Peter Gade started gaining points just when DH started watching. Of course that has nothing to do with DH. And as we know it now, Chong Wei did win the game.

While the game was interesting, I was more keen to watch Adamaya. So I flipped back to TV3 at 6.30pm and DH adjourned upstairs to watch the game on Astro. I forgot about the match completely, allowing myself to be carried away by Adamaya, sometimes thinking that "eh my husband is also patient like Adam. I should appreciate him more." Indeed, there are many screwed up men like Dani in the world today. I should be grateful that DH is nothing like him. Note to mothers, please bring up your sons to respect women.

Later on as DD and I were wrapping Teacher's Day presents in DD's room, we were startled by a loud yell from DH next door. Wong Chun Han had lost the first set of his game. At that time, Malaysia was leading 2-0 (courtesy of Chong Wei and the first double). Wong Chung Han only needed to win his game to carry Malaysia to the semi finals. DH was tense. I was miffed because I thought his loud yell almost gave me a heart attack. I gave him the 'look' that told him that I wasn't at all happy with his yelling.

He broke the ice by asking for his dinner. After a hurried dinner, he ran back upstairs to continue watching the game. Meanwhile, DD, the maid and I continued eating our dinner in leisure. I wasn't at all interested to watch the game.

Later on the three of us adjourned to watch TV at the living room. By this time, Wong Chun Han had lost his game. I became curious to watch the game now that the second double was forced to play. It was a new pairing. As the commentator said, Hoon Thien How is a 'bidan terjun' to replace Mohd Zakry's partner who was told to rest by his coach. That was the first time that they were paired. And they had to take on the much more experienced pair from Denmark. It didn't escape my eyes that the Danes were a lot taller than the Malaysians and hence they would have an advantage in the game. I also noticed that the Malaysians looked as if they've been frequenting mamak stalls on a nightly basis (I'm trying to put this in the kindest way possible).

Now, that was an interesting game. You have 2 fresh young faces who were playing as a pair for the first time against another 2 who looked like they've been playing together every day for the past 10 years. Their physical appearances alone gave me a clue as to which team was stronger. I suspect the commentators were trying their best not to sound too pessimistic. I thought the game would be a sure give-away to the Danes. I was just hoping that our boys wouldn't get a sound thrashing from them.

But was I in for a nice surprise. Our boys gave a good fight. No, they gave a great fight. My DD got excited, we all got excited watching the game. DD wrote 'Go Malaysia Go' on her white board and made the maid and me repeat after her. Soon all three of us were chanting together, with DD holding the small white board above her head. We cheered 'yay! yee hah' every time our boys scored a point.

Soon DH gave up wathing alone upstairs and joined us in the living room. He said "Tak best lah tengok kat atas. You all dah 'yay' kat bawah, kat atas baru nak serve." Hehe, the telecast on Astro was delayed by a few seconds. I didn't notice our cheering was spoiling his fun.

Now DH and DD started jumping up and down in front of the TV. I knew it was an accident waiting to happen. True enough, DH accidentally hit a corner of the coffee table and had a nasty bruise. Oh well, who would have thought that the game would cause a casualty outside the court?

Casualty aside, it didn't dampen the cheering. Due to his 'injury', DH resorted to cheering from the safety of the couch. DD stood in front of the TV in a pose similar to a goal keeper waiting for the player from the other team to strike. I said to my maid, "Kalau lawan Indon ni, mesti Ita tak sanggup nak tengok dgn kami."

The second double team won the first set. That was when I had to force DD to go to bed. She protested, but to no avail. The two of us went into the room, and DH went upstairs to watch the game on Astro. My maid quickly changed the channel to her favourite programme.

I joined DH after DD fell asleep. He was subdued, like someone in mourning. The second double was playing the third set, and they were losing. It was a tense moment. Gone were the cheers from the spectators. I said to DH, "Kalau kat Indon ni, mesti fans dia bising bersorak bagi support. Fans kita boring la."

In the end the second double team was defeated by the Danes. But it was a good game. As the commentator said, they lost dengan cara bermaruah (with their dignity intact). DH said, "macam ni la baru puas hati. Bukan macam masa lawan Jepun. Itu fans siap show fingers kat diorang, and dia balas balik. Itu yg kena rest tu." He was referring to Mohd Zakry's partner in the match against Japan.

Now it was all up to Hafiz. DH told me to go eat my sahur first, but my eyes couldn't leave the TV set. Hafiz played a really good game, but that didn't stop DH from worrying. He said Hafiz has a tendency to get 'lapses'. He lost focus easily and is mentally not strong. I asked, "Shouldn't the final player be someone who's mentally strong, because he has to carry such a heavy burden on his shoulders?" DH replied, "Well, many Malaysian players are not mentally strong." He then asked me, "Guess whom they're meeting if they win this game?" I gave him a blank look, so he said, "China. Tu la, kalah lagi dgn Jepun." China is the defending champion.

Kudos to Hafiz, he won his game in style. He played very well at the net. Many times, the shuttlecock just passed the net barely and by the time it reached the other side, it had lost the momentum so the Dane couldn't do much to save it.

The crowds were ecstatic. We were ecstatic. DH grinned at me and said, "Macam dah menang Thomas Cup finals. Padahal baru quarter final." And then I confided in him, "When you asked me whom they'd be meeting if they win this game, I thought the answer is the PM or Agung."

Anyway, congrats to the Malaysian team. We'll be in Genting on Friday night, but DH already promised that we will be watching the semi final match. Do your best! We will cheer you on.